Alabama

Finebaum: Barack Obama, Orrin Hatch should not mess with BCS

View full size(Press-Register Illustration: Brian Lyman; Photos: BCS Trophy: Press-Register/Bill Starling; Utah flag: Creative Commons; State of the Union: The Associated Press)Paul Finebaum: An investigation of the BCS might be popular in Utah, but the president has more important things to do.You've got to hand it to Barack Obama. If nothing else, he's got chutzpah.

The president just celebrated his first anniversary in office, which by all accounts was not a good one. His party just lost the safest seat in the Senate to the Republicans. His standing among world leaders appears to be in a free fall. His popularity among the electorate is tumbling.

So what's he do? Obama has declared war on the BCS.

On Friday, it was revealed that the Obama Justice Department will review the legality of the BCS. This comes after Utah ornery Senator Orrin Hatch -- who is still steaming from his home-state Utes not being given consideration for the 2008 BCS title -- demanded a review into whether the college football system violates antitrust laws.

Most of the time, this would generate a collective yawn around the nation. Doesn't the big guy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have better things to do? But that's the problem.

Obama is not getting much done on the so-called important issues. And he knows he will get gobs of coverage and fawning press attention on the subject since most national commentators also hate the BCS. In fact, the sports media is about the only part of society where Obama still commands rock star status, so why not take advantage of it?

Did you see Obama interviewed Saturday during the Duke-Georgetown game on CBS? You would have thought Elvis had shown up at the building the way Verne Lundquist and Clark Kellogg fell over themselves. Same thing happened a few months ago on Monday Night Football.

Besides, Obama telegraphed this move when he was running for office, saying he was going to "throw my weight around a little bit" to push college football for a playoff.

There may be another aspect of this as well.

One of Obama's top aides and chief media strategists is a huge college football fan. He is Robert Gibbs, the president's chief spokesperson, who grew up in Auburn, and is a huge fan of the program (even though he played soccer at North Carolina State). Perhaps Gibbs is still in a snit over the Tigers being shut out of the 2004 BCS game.

Don't get me wrong here. The BCS system has flaws the size of Jupiter. However, do you really want the government interfering with college football? What would it be like?

Well, the other day, we got a clue when it was suggested by Hatch that Obama invite the Boise State team to the White House on the same day that Alabama is being honored as the reigning national champ.

Why not everyone? Let's go ahead and make a mockery of Alabama's legitimate championship by inviting a bunch of freeloaders.

This reminds me of the scene from "Meet the Fockers" when the free-wheeling liberal parent in the movie, Dustin Hoffman, is chided by the button-downed uptight former CIA agent (Robert DiNiro) for saving a ninth-place swimming ribbons in his son's room years later.

"They even give them for 10th place," Hoffman said.

Like many in the media, I have railed against the BCS. It takes no thought or effort and has become a cottage industry every fall. But most years, the system works and this year it worked to perfection. Clearly, the best team won. End of story.

Unfortunately, we have a president who can't seem to get any traction on anything else he has proposed. So he's using his bully pulpit to stick his nose where it clearly does not belong.

Mr. President, worry about national security and health care. Put your time into the economy, global warming and saving the world.

But stay out of college football. Don't use your exalted status to talk about college football in a cheap and desperate attempt to curry favor with a disillusioned nation. Do what you were elected to do. Run the country. Leave college football to people who actually know what they're talking about.